Doll&#39;s eyes



Oct. 6 1925.

w. c. HUNTER ET AL DOLLS Ems iled Feb. 27. 1923 2 Sheds-Sheet l fir: Nam-R8 s 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. C. HUNTER El AL DOLLS EYES Filed Feb. 27, 1923 hmvrom' I 5 a J MEN.

l it t r: or. a atented test.

i STATES 1., 97a PATENT oFricE.

WILLIAM CROSBY HUNTER AND FREDERICK WALTER SIMS, 0]? SOUTHAMPTON,

ENGLAND.

DOLL S EYES.

Application filed February 27, 1923. Serial No. 621,641.

To all 20720022 it may concern:

Be it known that we, lVILLIAM Cnosnr HUNTER and Funnnnrcn V'TALTER SIMs, subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at, respectively, 16 Foundry Lane, Southampton, England, and 2 South brook-Flats, Commercial Road, Southampton, England, have invented new and useful improvements in Dolls Eyes, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in and relating to dolls eyes and has for its object to enable the dolls eyes to close after it has been nursed by a child so giving the effect that the doll has gone to sleep.

According to this invention, the eyes of the doll are movably mounted within the head so that they may rock about a suitable pivot. When the doll is in the upright posi tion, the eyes will assume a position in which they will show through apertures in the face representing the eye sockets. A suitable pivoted catch is provided and adapted to engage a projecting ridge on the eye to retain them in this position, and a balance weight is also arranged to tend to bring them to this position when the doll. is held in an uprightposition, but which also tends to 06.; them about the pivot so that a plain portion representing the dolls eyelids will show through the sockets and give the appearance that the eyes are closed and the doll asleep. The pivoted catch however prevents the movement of the eyes when the doll is first laid in a reclining position, and it is necessary to rock the doll as is done in nursing a child in order to release the pivoted catch and allow the eyes to close.

In order that our invention may be clearly understood, embodiments of same are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where in Fig. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a dolls head according to this invention with the eyes open.

Fig. 2 is a view with the eyes closed.

Fig. 3 is an end View.

Fig. t is a view illustrating the releasing device.

Figs. 5 and 6 are views illustrating respec tively the eyes open and closed in a modification.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are views illustrating a further modification, the eyes being open. and. closed in Figs. 7 and 8 respectively.

Figs. 10 and 11 are views illustrating the releasing device employed with the modification illustrated in Figs. .7, 8 and 9, and

Fig. 12 is a view of a modified form of ball.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 8, the eyes 1 are mo vably mounted within the head whereby they may rock about a suitable pivot in known manner. A balance weight 2 is dependingly supported from the eyes so that when the doll is held in an upright position the eyes assume a position in which they are visible, as though open, through the apertures 3 in the head. A projection 4 is provided on the eyes and this is engaged by one end of a pivoted catch 5, the other end of which is freely engaged in a slot 6 formed in one end of a casing '7. This casing 7 contains a ball 8 freely located therein and adapted to strike the end of the catch 5 thereby moving such catch about its pivot 5 with consequent releasing and closing of the eyes. i

In Figs. 5 and 6 is illustrated a modification in which instead of having a bell crank shaped catch 53 as represented in Figs. 1, 2 and S, a straight arm catch 9 is provided pivoted on one end to the upper edge of the casing 7, and engaged at its other end with the projection a. The release of this catch is effected by the ball 8 striking it at a point in front of its point of pivotal connection.

In Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive is shown a further modification in which the casing T dispensed with, the ball 8 o'l 'rubber, co k or the like being freely positioned in the head. A catch 9 similar to the catch 5 (Fig. 1) is provided engaging at one end a projection 4 carried by the eyes whereby the eyes are normally maintained open. The catch 9 is rotatably supported upon a rod 10 extending across the interior of the head. To enable the catch 9 to be disengaged from the projection 4 when the doll is rocked sideways, an extension 11 in the form of a cranked piece of wire is provided secured at one end to the catch 9, whereby upon the ball 8 striking the wire from the side in the form of a glancing blow the catch will be rocked about the rod 10, with consequent releasing of the eyes.

An abutment 12 is provided to prevent the catch 9 from swinging completely round. This abutment is in the form of a coiled piece of wire 13 the intermediate portion of which is cranked to provide a bridgeshaped abutment.

The interior of the casing 7 is preferably lined with felt or other suitable material for the purpose of obviating the noise of the ball rolling about. Also if the ball. is freely positioned in the headas in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, it may be formed of india rubber, cork or the like so as to obviate the necessity for lining the interior of the head. If desired the ball may be made of irregin lar shape as shown in Fig. 12 so that it will frequently change its direction of movement.

We claim 1- 1. The combination of a hollow dolls head having eye holes, eyeballs fixed together, pivotally mounted, and having irises for registering with said holes, an arm associated with the eyeballs, a weight on the arm, a releasable retaining catch for retaining the eyeballs against pivotal movement when the head is moved to a reclining position, a supporting surface ,vithin the head for a loose member, and a loose member movable freely in any direction on said supporting surface, said retaining catch having a portion which is adjacent said surface, said surface extending across the head and permitting of movement of said member laterally with respect to the head. whereby chance operation or release of said catch by the loose member, takes place upon rocking and like movement being imparted to the head.

2. The combination of a hollow dolls head having eye holes, eyeballs fixed together, pivotally mounted, and having irises for registering with said holes, an arm associated with the eyeballs, a weight on the arm, a releasable retaining catch for retainingthe eyeballs against pivotal movement when the head is moved to a reclining position, said catch having two pertions, one of which engages the arm and the other of which is located near the rear of the top of the head, and a loose member freely movable over a suitable surface 10- cated at the rear part of the head, whereby chance operation or release of said catch by the loose member, takes place upon rocking and like movement being imparted to the head.

3. The combination of a hollow dolls head having eye holes, eyeballs fixed together, pivotally mounted, and having irises for registering with said holes, an arm associated with the eye balls, a weight on the arm, a releasable retaining catch for re taining the eyeballs against pivotal move ment when the head is moved to a reclining position, an extension on said catch, a supporting surface within the head for a loose member, a loose member movable freely in any direction on said supporting surface, said extension having an arm which is adjacent said surface, said surface extending across the head and permitting of movement of said member laterally with respect to the head whereby chance operation or release of said catch by the loose member, takes place upon rocking and like movement being imparted to the head.

4. The combination of a hollow dolls head having eye holes, eyeballs fixed together, pivotally mounted, and having irises for registering with said holes, an arm associated with the eyeballs, a weight on the arm, a releasable retaining catch for retaining the eyeballs against pivotal movement when the head is moved to a reclining position, a pivot on which said catch is mounted, an extension on said catch, a supporting surface within the head for a loose memher, a loose member movable freely in any direction on said supporting surface. said extension having an arm which is adjacent said surface, said surface extending across the head and permitting of movement of said member laterally with respect to the head, whereby chance operation or release of said catch by the loose member, takes place upon rocking and like movement being imparted to the head.

WILLIAM CROSBY HUNTER FREDERICK i /ALTER SIMS 

